At least I know who Fonzie was

Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 12:41 p.m. CDT

By Sarah Maxwell

I came to the Bureau County Republican in May 2013 after spending nine months in the Quad Cities at the Quad City Times. I do a very similar job. I edit copy for the newspaper. I design and layout a few pages. The newsrooms, despite size, are similar as well. Reporters are busily writing articles and cultivating leads, and designers are doing everything in their power to create a good-looking product. And the one thing, despite a smaller range, that has not changed is me. I am still the youngest in the newsroom. At least here instead of six years, there are only three years now.

I find it funny how my age can amaze and befuddle my co-workers. Sometimes it’s amusing to me to watch them stuttering and marvel at how young I am and how much pop culture from their childhood I missed. It seems like a child’s life can’t be complete without watching the classic TV shows of more than 30 years ago. Let me take you on a little journey through BCR newsroom Memory Lane.

Now Greg, I’m sure you all know Greg, his columns and cartoons delight those who read them, seems to have the hardest time realizing my age. Often times, as a point of reference, he has to be reminded I was only 3 years old when he started working here at the BCR, and even then I don’t think it makes much difference to him.

We were chatting one day after lunch and he made a reference to Mrs. Howell. Now to me, that name means nothing, so I do what any normal person would do and ask, “Who is that?” The look on his face was priceless; you would think I had canceled his birthday. To him, the fact I have never seen an episode of “Gilligan’s Island,” to know who Thurston and his wife are, is an abhorrent fact I think he would much rather forget. But at least I knew the show revolved around a never-ending, three-hour tour.

Upon further discussion one morning, it was also discovered I have no idea who the characters are on “The Golden Girls.” I just know they are some seriously sassy older women who often times end up on memes floating through the social media universe. And Betty White was on the show too. How did we arrive at this conclusion? Greg asked if I knew who Alice, Flo and Vera were. Apparently saying, “Aren’t they the Golden Girls,” is not an acceptable answer.

I think I shocked him when I dropped my recently acquired knowledge of the name of the Lone Ranger’s nephew’s horse during a recent office discussion. It’s Victor, in case you were wondering. It is all thanks to finally watching “A Christmas Story” the whole way through during Christmas last year. However, had you asked me what the name of the Lone Ranger’s horse was, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you until two weeks ago after watching Disney’s movie of the TV series.

But I think I might have redeemed myself when Greg discovered I at least knew who Fonzie was. He’s the guy who hits the jukebox and said “hey” a lot. However that doesn’t make up for the fact I didn’t know who Potsie was. You can’t win them all, and that’s just fine by me.